1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to education; child care assistance; 
  1.3             providing for temporary ineligibility; amending 
  1.4             Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 119B.09, subdivision 
  1.5             4; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, 
  1.6             chapter 119B.  
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 119B.09, 
  1.9   subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  1.10     Subd. 4.  [ELIGIBILITY; ANNUAL INCOME; CALCULATION.] Annual 
  1.11  income of the applicant family is the current monthly income of 
  1.12  the family multiplied by 12 or the income for the 12-month 
  1.13  period immediately preceding the date of application, or income 
  1.14  calculated by the method which provides the most accurate 
  1.15  assessment of income available to the family.  Self-employment 
  1.16  income must be calculated based on gross receipts less operating 
  1.17  expenses.  Income must be redetermined when the family's income 
  1.18  changes, but no less often than every six 12 months.  Income 
  1.19  must be verified with documentary evidence.  If the applicant 
  1.20  does not have sufficient evidence of income, verification must 
  1.21  be obtained from the source of the income. 
  1.22     Sec. 2.  [119B.105] [TEMPORARY INELIGIBILITY; SUSPENSION; 
  1.23  MEDICAL LEAVE OF ABSENCE.] 
  1.24     Subdivision 1.  [TEMPORARY INELIGIBILITY.] Counties must 
  1.25  reserve a family's position under the child care assistance fund 
  1.26  if a family has been receiving child care assistance but is 
  2.1   temporarily ineligible for assistance.  A county may reserve a 
  2.2   family's position under the child care assistance fund if a 
  2.3   family is approved to receive child care assistance and reaches 
  2.4   the top of the waiting list but is temporarily ineligible for 
  2.5   assistance.  In its child care fund plan, a county must specify 
  2.6   whether it reserves positions under the child care assistance 
  2.7   fund for temporarily ineligible families who reach the top of 
  2.8   the waiting list and, if so, the criteria used to make the 
  2.9   decision whether to reserve a position.  Criteria must include 
  2.10  the family's self-identification of a leave for cultural 
  2.11  purposes.  Employed participants may be temporarily ineligible 
  2.12  for a maximum of 90 days.  Child care assistance participants 
  2.13  who are students may be temporarily ineligible for a maximum of 
  2.14  one academic quarter or semester as determined by the 
  2.15  educational institution.  Counties may not provide child care 
  2.16  assistance payments to a temporarily ineligible family until the 
  2.17  family has provided proof of eligibility.  Counties may not 
  2.18  require a family to reapply for the child care assistance 
  2.19  program if eligibility is reestablished within the maximum 
  2.20  allowable time. 
  2.21     Subd. 2.  [SUSPENSION.] Counties must suspend, and may not 
  2.22  terminate, a family's child care assistance for up to one 
  2.23  continuous year if there are temporary breaks when child care 
  2.24  assistance is not needed but the family remains eligible for 
  2.25  child care assistance. 
  2.26     Subd. 3.  [PAYMENT DURING MEDICAL LEAVES OF 
  2.27  ABSENCE.] Counties must grant child care assistance during a 
  2.28  parent's medical leave of absence from education or employment 
  2.29  if: 
  2.30     (1) the parent is incapable of providing child care during 
  2.31  the medical leave of absence; 
  2.32     (2) the parent is expected to return to employment or an 
  2.33  approved education or training program within 90 calendar days 
  2.34  after leaving the job, education, or training program; and 
  2.35     (3) the necessity of the medical leave and the inability to 
  2.36  provide child care are documented by a physician or licensed 
  3.1   psychologist. 
  3.2      The amount of child care authorized during the medical 
  3.3   leave of absence must not exceed the equivalent of two months of 
  3.4   full-time child care. 
  3.5      Subd. 4.  [PAYMENT DURING CARE OF RELATIVE.] Counties must 
  3.6   not suspend or terminate a family's child care assistance during 
  3.7   a period in which a parent leaves the county to provide care for 
  3.8   an elderly, sick, or dying relative if: 
  3.9      (1) the child remains living in the county with an eligible 
  3.10  relative caregiver; 
  3.11     (2) the condition of the relative and need for care is 
  3.12  documented by a physician; and 
  3.13     (3) the parent returns to the county within 30 calendar 
  3.14  days.